Method of rounding the backs of books and a machine for performing the same

ABSTRACT

A method and a machine for rounding the backs of books by first rounding one side of the backs with a first set of shaping rolls progressively approaching the median central plane of the books; whilst the books are conveyed through the machine and by then rounding the other side of the backs with a second preferably similar set of shaping rolls as the books continue to be conveyed through the machine.

United States Patent Wiersma [451 Feb. 1, 1972 [54] METHOD OF ROUNDINGTHE BACKS [56] References Cited OF BOOKS AND A MACHINE FOR PERFORMINGTHE SAME UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,460,174 8 1969 F [72] Inventor: FransWiersma, Reiden, Switzerland 2,516,446 7x950 3:22 n [73] Assignee: FirmaJos. Hunkeler, Wikon, Switzerland 3,132-360 5/1964 Hawk 1 3,466,6829/1969 French ..1 H] R [22] Filed: Dec. 9, 1969 Prima -ExaminerLawrenceCharles I. '"y 2 App No 883482 AttorneyFlynn & Frishauf [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Dec. 17, 1968 Switzerland..l8702/68 A method and a machine for rounding the backs of books byfirst rounding one side of the backs with a first set of shaping [52]U.S.Cl ..281/21, 11/5 rolls progressively approaching the median centralplane of [51 Int. Cl r ..B42d l/00, B42c 5/00 the books; whilst thebooks are conveyed through the machine [58] and by then rounding theother side of the backs with a second Field ofSearch ..1 1/5, 1 CD, 1 R;281/21 preferably similar set of shaping rolls as the books continue tobe conveyed through the machine.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 1 i972 SHEET 1 UP 4 d W W FPR6 Y B PAIENTED FEB 11912 3,638,966

snmunra Fig. 5

. ple tool.

METHOD OF ROUNDING THE BACKS OF BOOKS AND A I MACHINE FOR PERFORMING THESAME I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates 'to a new. andimproved method and machine forirounding the backs of books.

i-ln-the process ofibookbinding the backs of the glued or sewn booksmust be rounded before they are inserted into their binding-cases.Normally this is done by hand with a sim- A method of rounding booksalready known in the art consists in pressing the :backsof the booksconsecutively into the V-section peripheral grooves of aset of rollswhich are intended toimpart-the necessary round to theibacks of the rbooks. However, in o'rderto permit the necessary pressure to be appliedto'the-backs of the books across the length of the backs, the books mustbe supported by a blade which is inserted-into the middle of the book sothat the book rides ast'rideithe blade: It has been found that this isnot a satisfactory arrangement because a low pressure applied by theshaping rollsfails to. produce the necessary round, whereas higherpressure mayzcause the blade to act as aknife and to cut the .book inhalf.

Accordingly, it is aprimary object of the present invention toprovi'de amethod of rounding the backs of books mechanically in a continuousprocess at relatively high speed.

Another object of the present invention relates to an improved machinefor rounding backs ofbooks so that the speed canbe substantiallyincreased over that possible with prior art 1 machines.

A-further object of.the-present invention relates to a rounding machinewhich canbe rapidly adjusted to books of differe ntformats andthicknesses.

- It is another object of the present invention to provide a machinewhich is relatively simple in construction, extremely reliable inoperation and has a high-output rate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention .willebe-betterunderstd,'and objects'other 'than those. set forth-above will becomeapparent, when consideration is given -to-the.following detaileddescription thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexeddrawings,.wherein:

; .FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine according to the invention,

no. 2 is a schematic side elevation of the machine, FIG. 3 is aschematic view of the machine according to FIG.

. 1 in plan,

.DESCRIRTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT I "The machineillustrated inFIGS. 1 to 5 comprises a-frame l or casing containing a first endlessconveyor belt 2 which runs over two retum-rollers 4. These returnrollers 4 are mounted i on vertical-axles 3 supported by the frame 1.They are driven by a-motor not shown in the drawings by a sprocketcooperating with a chain wheel 5. For supporting the conveyor belt 2 aplurality of verticalzbacking rollers 7 or supporting rollers aredisposed'between the two return rollers 4. The backing rollers 7bearagainst the-back'of the flat conveyor belt 2 which may consist ofrubber or a like material; and they prevent the belt 2 from beingsignificantly flexed: A second endless rubberrel'asticbelt 8 similartothe first and mounted to run over two further return rollers 9.adjoinsthe firstbelt on the other side oi the longitudinal axis X of a channel10 along which books 6 I are conveyedThis belt 8 is likewise supportedby backing rollers 22 disposed on the back of the belt. The returnrollers 9 are rotatably inounted on vertical axles 12 and the belt islikewise drivenby a sprocketand chain wheel 5.

A substantially U-section beam 13 carries a first set of rotatableshaping or forming rolls 14. These shaping rolls 14 are substantiallybell-shaped and they form a linear bank in direction A in. which thebooks 6 are conveyed. However, the shaping rolls 14 could in thealternative also be cylindrical or tapering cones. The axes of rotationof the shaping rolls 14 are inclined to the horizontal at an anglebetween about 40 and 60. They are spaced at appropriate intervals foreach shaping roll 14 to face a backing roller 7. Each shaping roll 14 isrotatable on an inclined axle 15 and all the shaping rolls 14 are drivenby a common chain 16. The entire beam 13 is swingable about a verticalhinge pin 17. A handwheel 18 and a screw shaft 19 permit the beam 13together with its shaping rolls 14 to be pivoted about the pin 17 andthus advanced towards or away from the backs 11 of the books 6. Thelateral distance of the shaping rolls 14 from the center of theconveying channel 10 becomes progressively less in conveying directionwhich is indicated by arrow A. Consequently the final roll 14 in the setwill be closer to the vertical plane containing the longitudinal centeraxis Xthan the leading roll 14 at the entry end of the channel 10. Thepurpose of the shaping rolls 14 is to round successively one side orhalf of the backs ll of the books 6 as they move orare transported alongthe conveying channel 10, in a manner shown in FIG. 4.

A like or similar shaping set for rounding the other side or half of thebacks 11 of the books 6 adjoins the first set of shaping rolls in thedirection of travel of the books 6 on the opposite side of thelongitudinal center axis X. The lateral distance of these shaping rolls21 from the longitudinal center axis X likewise decreases in thedirection of travel A, i.e., towards the rear end of the machine. Eachof the shaping rolls 21 of this second set again faces a backing roller22. Hence the first section of the machine comprising the conveyor belt2 extends from the entry end to roughly the midpoint of the conveyingchannel 10 and the second section comprising the conveyor belt 8 extendsroughly from the midway point of the conveying channel 10 to thedelivery end thereof.

The shaping rolls 21 which are likewise substantially bellshaped arealso inclined to the horizontal at an angle of about 40 to 60, but in adirection contrary to that of the inclination of the first set ofshaping rolls. The shaping rolls 21 are mounted on axles 23 which arerotatably supported in a U-section beam 24 and their purpose is to roundthe other side of thebacks 11 of the books, in the manner shown in FIG.5. This beam 24 is likewise swingable or deflectable about a verticalhinge pin 25 at the rear end of the channel 10. The two pins 17 and 25are thus located on opposite sides of a vertical plane containing thelongitudinal axis X. The beam 24 and hence the shaping rolls 21 can bemoved by a handwheel 42 and a screw shaft 41. All the shaping rolls 21are driven by a common chain 43 engaging a chain wheel 44 on one end ofeach axle 23. 1

At an adjustable distance above the shaping rolls 14, 21 is a horizontalbar 26 of circular section. This bar is located approximately in thecenter plane of the conveying channel 10 along which the books 6 travel.During the rounding or shaping process this bar 26 bears on the upwardlydirected foreedge of the books 6 on the side remote from their backs 11.The bar 26 ensures that the books 6 remain at the same level duringtheir movement and during the rounding process along the channel 10. Thebar 26 is supported from above by holders 27 and constitutes a reactionmember which resists the shaping pressure of the rolls 14, 21.

At the top the holders 27 are each attached to a bracket 28 which ismounted on screw spindles 29. The bottom end of each screw spindle 29carries a chain wheel 32, and all the chain wheels 32 are driven by acommon chain 31 so that rotation of a handwheel 30 at the top of one ofthe screw spindles 29 causes like rotations of all the spindles 29 and aconsequent horizontal upward or downward displacement of the bar 26 ifbooks of other sizes are shaped.

Instead of a single continuous bar 26 two such bars could be arranged toadjoin in the direction of travel of the books along the length of thechannel, one bar being laterally slightly offset from the other.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 it will be understood that the sides of thebooks facing away from the conveyor belts 2 and 8 are held by stationarymetal sideplates 34, 35. The first elongated vertically disposedsideplate 34 extends approximately along the entire length of the firstconveyor belt 2 and is situated above the shaping rolls 14, whereas thesecond sideplate 35 is roughly of the same length as the second belt 8and is situated above the shaping rolls 21. The sideplates 34 and 35have a smooth surface because the books 6 slide on these plates as theymove along the conveying channel 10. For laterally supporting thesideplates 34, 35 they are arranged to bear against backing bars 36 orsupporting beams held by thrust plates 37. The backing bars 34, 35 canbe adjusted to books of different thicknesses by a screw spindle 38which bears against the back of the thrust plate 37 and which isoperable by a handwheel 39.

The described machine functions as follows:

A pile of unbound books 6 is placed on a slightly sloping feed table 53(FIG. 1). The books 6 which may have been sewn or glued still have flatbacks. The leading book in the pile is entrained by a floating chain, ordrivers (which are not shown in the drawing) and which are attached toan endless chain extending along the conveying channel 10, and thus fedinto the conveying channel 10. In this channel 10 the books 6 areconsecutively gripped by the conveyor belt 2 and carried forward by therelatively high friction between the belt 2 and the sides of the books.The books 6 are thus one after the other consecutively advanced intocontact with the shaping rolls 14. The leading shaping rolls 14 firstpush the outermost leaves or sections of the book slightly upwards. Thenext shaping rolls 14 then push the next leaves or sections upwards, theconsecutive action of the shaping rolls thus progressively forming apermanent round on one side of the back 11 of the book 6. Thehalf-rounded book 6 then enters the channel defined by the secondconveyor belt 8 in which in analogous manner the other side of the back11 of the book is similarly rounded by the shaping rolls 21. The booksare held and guided at the same level during the rounding process by thebar 26 which constitutes a counterpressure against the upwardly directedforces exerted by the rolls 14, 21 on the books. Finally the books 6that have been provided with fully rounded or shaped backs 11 areejected at the delivery end of the machine and can be transferred tofurther processing machines. Preferably the shaping rolls 14, 21 are sodriven that their peripheral speed in the region where they make contactwith the backs 11 of the books 6 slightly exceeds the forwarding speedof the books 6 through the conveying channel 10, so that the rolls 14,21 will assist in conveying the books 6 through the machine.

Adjustment to books of different thicknesses can be effected byadvancing or retracting the sideplates 34, 35 in parallel. Adjustment ofthe elevational position of the bar 26 permits the machine to be adaptedto books of different formats. The position of the shaping rolls 14, 21can be adjusted by the handwheels 18, 42 to produce a rounding on thebacks ll of the books 6 of desired convexity.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a machine in which the cylindrical orbell-shaped shaping rolls 14, 21 are replaced by conical rolls 48, 50.These rolls have horizontal axles 49, 51 each carrying a chain wheeldriven by a common chain or through a gear train. The conical rolls 48,50 are likewise mounted in swingable beams which correspond to the beams13, 24 in the previous embodiment. Otherwise these rolls and machinefunction in the same way as the previously described bellshaped rolls.

A second rounding unit of substantially the same construction as thatherein described could be combined with the described unit in tandem,particularly for books that are very fat, so that the complete machinewould comprise four conveyor belts instead of only two and acorresponding number of sets of shaping rolls.

It should be apparent from theforegoing detailed description, that theobjects set forth at the outset to the specification have beensuccessfully achieved.

Accordingly, I claim:

ll. Method of rounding the backs ofbooks comprising the steps of movingthe books along an essentially straight, predetermined path;

supporting the backs of the books laterally at one side thereof;

progressively increasingly applying rounding pressure in a directiontowards the support of the backs of the books and rounding a side of thesupported, initially flat backs of said books as they travel along saidpath by engaging the backs of the books from progressively decreasingdistance with respect to the median central plane of the books with aplurality of shaping rolls in a direction lengthwise of the backs duringmovement of said books along the first portion of said alignedpredetermined path;

then supporting the backs of the books laterally at the opposite side;

and thereafter progressively increasingly applying rounding pressure ina direction towards the support at the other side of the backs of thebooks and rounding the other side of the backs of said books by engagingthe backs of the books from progressively decreasing distance from theother side with respect to the median central plane of the backs with aplurality of further shaping rolls during the movement of said booksalong a second portion of said aligned predetermined path.

2. Machine for rounding the backs of books comprising frame means;

conveying means mounted on said frame means for advancing the bookssequentially along a unidirectional predetermined path in said machinein a direction parallel to the backs of said books;

a first set of driven shaping rolls operating on one side of the mediancentral plane of said path for rounding one side of the backs of saidbooks as they move along said path, said shaping rolls engaging thebooks with decreasing distance with respect to said median central planeas the books move along said path;

a second set of driven shaping rolls operating on the other side of themedian central plane for rounding the other side of the backs of saidbooks as they continue to move along said path, said other set ofshaping rolls engaging the books with decreasing distance with respectto said median plane from the other side, as the books move along saidpath;

said first set of shaping rolls and said second set of shaping rollsbeing arranged, one behind the other in the direction of movement ofsaid books; and

backup means located with respect to said rolls to counteract pressurefrom said shaping rolls against the books.

3. Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said sets of shapingrolls is mounted on a beam, said beam being pivotally mounted aboutvertical pin means fixed on said frame means, the distance between thefirst one of said rolls and the last one of each of said sets relativeto the corresponding conveyor belt decreasing successively.

4. Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said conveying means compriseat least two endless conveyor belts having a high coefficient offriction in contact with paper material, and roller means rotatablymounted on said frame means for guiding and returning said conveyorbelts, and wherein the backup means comprises backing roller meansarranged at the inside of said conveyor belts for supporting theconveyor belts along' said path. I

5. Machine as claimed in claim 4, comprising further stationarysideplates fixed on said frame means facing each of the conveyor beltsso that said books are pressed along said path between one of saidconveyor belts and one of said sideplates, adjustable means forlaterally adjusting said sideplates, one of said conveyor beltsextending substantially from one end of said machine to the middle partof said machine and the other of said conveyor belts extending from themiddle part to the other end of said machine.

6. Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the backup means comprises atleast one supporting bar extending along said path for supporting thefore-edge of said books during rounding the back of said books, saidsupporting bar having a curved underside.

7. Machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein said supporting bar extendingsubstantially along the entire length of said path and beingelevationally adjustable by adjusting means.

8. Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said shaping rolls aresubstantially bell-shaped, the axis of rotation of said rolls beinginclined to the horizontal.

9. Machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shaping rolls aresubstantially cone-shaped, and the axis of rotation of said rolls beingsubstantially horizontal.

10. Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the shaping rolls are drivensuch that the peripheral speed of said shaping rolls in the regiontouching the backs of said books exceeds the speed of travel of saidconveying belts, the sense of rotation of said rolls assisting themovement of said book along said path.

1. Method of rounding the backs of books comprising the steps of movingthe books along an essentially straight, predetermined path; supportingthe backs of the books laterally at one side thereof; progressivelyincreasingly applying rounding pressure in a direction towards thesupport of the backs of the books and rounding a side of the supported,initially flat backs of said books as they travel along said path byengaging the backs of the books from progressively decreasing distancewith respect to the median central plane of the books with a pluralityof shaping rolls in a direction lengthwise of the backs during movementof said books along the first portion of said aligned predeterminedpath; then supporting the backs of the books laterally at the oppositeside; and thereafter progressively increasingly applying roundingpressure in a direction towards the support at the other side of thebacks of the books and rounding the other side of the backs of saidbooks by engaging the backs of the books from progressively decreasingdistance from the other side with respect to the median central plane ofthe backs with a plurality of further shaping rolls during the movementof said books along a second portion of said aligned predetermined path.2. Machine for rounding the backs of books comprising frame means;conveying means mounted on said frame means for advancing the bookssequentially along a unidirectional predetermined path in said machinein a direction parallel to the backs of said books; a first set ofdriven shaping rolls operating on one side of the median central planeof said path for rounding one side of the backs of said books as theymove along said path, said shaping rolls engaging the books withdecreasing distance with respect to said median central plane as thebooks move along said path; a second set of driven shaping rollsoperating on the other side of the median central plane for rounding theother side of the backs of said books as they continue to move alongsaid path, said other set of shaping rolls engaging the books withdecreasing distance with respect to said median plane from the otherside, as the books move along said path; said first set of shaping rollsand said second set of shaping rolls being arranged, one behind theother in the direction of movement of said books; and backup meanslocated with respect to said rolls to counteract pressure from saidshaping rolls against the books.
 3. Machine as claimed in claim 2,wherein each of said sets of shaping rolls is mounted on a beam, saidbeam being pivotally mounted about vertical pin means fixed on saidframe means, the distance between the first one of said rolls and thelast one of each of said sets relative to the corresponding conveyorbelt decreasing successively.
 4. Machine as claimed in claim 2, whereinsaid conveying means comprise at least two endless conveyor belts havinga high coefficient of friction in contact with paper material, androller means rotatably mounted on said frame means for guiding andreturning said conveyor belts, and wherein the backup means comprisesbacking roller means arranged at the inside of said conveyor belts forsupporting the conveyor belts along said path.
 5. Machine as claimed inclaim 4, comprising further stationary sideplates fixed on said framemeans facing each of the conveyor belts so that said books are pressedalong said path between one of said conveyor belts and one of saidsideplates, adjustable means for laterally adjusting said sideplates,one of said conveyor belts extending substantially from one end of saidmachine to the middle part of said machine and the other of saidconveyor belts extending from the middle part to the other end of saidmachine.
 6. Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the backup meanscomprises at least one supporting bar extending along said path forsupporting the fore-edge of said books during rounding the back of saidbooks, said supporting bar having a curved underside.
 7. Machine asclaimed in claim 6, wherein said supporting bar extending substantiallyalong the entire length of said path and being elevationally adjustableby adjusting means.
 8. Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein saidshaping rolls are substantially bell-shaped, the axis of rotation ofsaid rolls being inclined to the horizontal.
 9. Machine as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said shaping rolls are substantially cone-shaped, andthe axis of rotation of said rolls being substantially horizontal. 10.Machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the shaping rolls are driven suchthat the peripheral speed of said shaping rolls in the region touchingthe backs of said books exceeds the speed of travel of said conveyingbelts, the sense of rotation of said rolls assisting the movement ofsaid book along said path.